1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fryer for heating and cooking foods with cooking oil filled into an oil vat.
2. Prior Art
Conventionally, a fryer used for frying foods in fast food restaurants for example, has a controller stored with various controlling programs for cooking and an operation panel for instructing an operation of the controlling programs for cooking. This operation panel includes a display portion for displaying a cooking menu, a temperature of cooking oil(hereinafter simply referred to as oil), and the remaining time of a cooking timer and the like, and various switches such as an operation switch and a menu switch for starting a cooking timer set in accordance with each cooking menu.
In such a fryer, when a temperature of oil filled in an oil vat reaches a predetermined temperature range, a menu switch is pressed to start a cooking timer along with putting foods, for example potatoes, into heated oil in an oil vat. At this operation, as oil is deteriorated by fry residues of foods etc., an oil cleaner is provided for filtering the oil.
Further, an inexperienced or busy user might forget filtering the oil or miss a timing of the filtering. In order to prevent the above, a display portion displays a filtering sign for notifying and encouraging oil filtering by the oil cleaner at preset time intervals.
However, since the filtering sign is displayed simply after a preset time has elapsed, there is a problem that the filtering sign is displayed even when cooking is not carried out, that is, fry residues are not accumulated so much.
There is another fryer notifying a filtering timing based on the number of times each menu switch is pressed in order to solve this problem. In other words, there is a fryer in which the notification is performed when the number of which each menu switch is pressed exceeds individual standard times set in accordance with each menu switch or the number of which all menu switches are pressed exceeds preset total standard times.
However, the notification is performed only by the number of times of cooking although the amount of fry residues varies depending on the kind of cooking. Thus, there is another problem that the timing of the notification is missed in a plurality of cooking, unlike single cooking in which the notification for filtering timing is performed appropriately. For example, in the event that cooking which produces plenty of fry residues is repeatedly performed, the amount of fry residues in the oil vat becomes excessive when all menu switches are pressed over total standard times. On the other hand, in the event that cooking which produces a small amount of fry residues is repeatedly performed, fry residues in an oil vat are not accumulated so much when all menu switches are pressed over total standard times.
The present invention solves the aforementioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a fryer which notifies the timing of oil filtering appropriately.
To achieve the above-mentioned object, in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, a fryer comprising:
an oil vat for containing cooking oil;
a heating means for heating the cooking oil;
a filtering device for filtering the cooking oil;
a plurality of cooking timers for counting cooking time set in accordance with each cooking menu and notifying the termination of cooking when the cooking time elapsed, and
a start switch for selecting and starting a cooking timer for an arbitrary cooking menu,
wherein the fryer comprising a storage means for storing a degree of amount of fry residues expected to be produced in the oil vat by single cooking for each cooking menu,
and an accumulative means for accumulating the degree of amount of fry residues in accordance with each cooking menu corresponding to the cooking timers read from the storage means at each cooking timer""s operation,
and a notification means for notifying the timing of filtering the cooking oil when the accumulated degree of amount of fry residues reaches a predetermined value.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fryer according to the first aspect, further comprises a prohibition means for prohibiting an ON operation of the cooking timers when the accumulated degree of amount of fry residues reaches a standard value which is more than the predetermined value.
In a fryer according to a first aspect of the present invention with the above configuration, a preset degree is accumulated corresponding to the amount of fry residues in accordance with each cooking menu at each cooking timer""s operation. When the accumulative value reaches a predetermined value, the notifying means notifies the timing for filtering. In other words, the filtering notification is performed in an appropriate timing because it reflects not only the number of cooking times but a difference of the amount of fry residues produced in each cooking menu.
In a fryer according to a second aspect of the present invention, the prohibition means prohibits the ON operation of the cooking timer when the degree of the fry residues reaches the standard value. That is, to prevent the fry residues from accumulating because filtering is not conducted in spite of the notification of filtering, the prohibition means is carried out not only by notifying but by locking the cooking timer. As a result, the next cooking timer cannot start unless filtering is conducted.